Romans 1:20–23, 28–32 | Mark 8:34–37
By Dr. Charles W. Ferguson
I wrote these thoughts earlier this week but never hit “post.” The constant ebb and flow of the days got in the way. But now, I believe this moment is exactly when they were meant to be shared.
The hateful actions that saturate our society have forced me to pause and assess the true condition of the human heart. Some are angry at the government. Others are emboldened to support a bastardized form of Christianity, daring to call this season “revival.” Many call harmful budget cuts “necessary,” while failing to see that they are reenacting Abraham’s sacrifice — except this time there’s no ram in the bush.
Yes, people are willingly placing our youth on the altar — sacrificing potential, promise, and hope on the altars of greed, selfishness, and corruption. Others continue to protect pedophiles in the name of “progress,” defend dollars in the name of profit, and excuse ignorance in the name of power. Everywhere I turn, I see the pain and suffering of so many, while others recline in comfort and convenience at the expense of the vulnerable.
Some voted for politicians in good faith, believing their causes would find justice in the halls of legislation. But simple Bible study would remind you: the transfer of your power can never be trusted in the hands of the corrupt.
Counting the Cost
Jesus, holding court with the crowd, placed before them two piercing questions about what it truly means to follow:
“If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For whoever would save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?
What can a person give in exchange for their soul?” — Mark 8:34–37
Jesus knew his mission was not for the faint of heart. It was not about personal comfort but about restoring a people long marginalized — calling them to find power in God again. Yet, he forced the crowd to assess the transaction before them: What is the profit margin for your soul?
Selling Out for Pennies
In 2025, it seems some have sold their souls for far less than thirty pieces of silver — maybe just a chicken sandwich from Popeyes. Many no longer want to hold power accountable. It’s now about which side offers the best temporary comfort. But even comfort comes with a cost. And as Jimmy McMillan once shouted, “The rent is too damn high!”
That inflation — spiritual, moral, and social — is the direct result of those Paul described long ago:
“Though they knew God, they did not honor him as God… They became futile in their thinking… Claiming to be wise, they became fools…
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind… They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice…”
(Romans 1:21–29)
Sound familiar?
The Betrayal of Education
Nowhere is this moral decay more evident than in the way education is being handled — or mishandled — right here in Ohio.
Our legislature has treated public education like a pawn in a political chess match. They have stripped the Department of Education of its independent authority, placing decision-making power in the hands of political appointees who view children as budget lines and teachers as expendable labor. They call it “accountability” and “reform,” but the outcome is control — the dismantling of equitable education for working-class, Black, and rural communities.
Meanwhile, the federal Department of Education remains complicit in the erosion. Instead of standing with students and families, it has bowed to corporate interests and test-score economics. Funding formulas continue to favor those already advantaged. Policies claim to “close the gap” while widening it for those who can least afford to fall further behind.
And what do we see across Ohio? The arbitrary closing of schools that devastate neighborhoods. The manipulation of constitutional laws that guarantee fully funded education for all children. This manipulation cannot continue to be circumvented by political gamesmanship or fiscal negligence. All must be held accountable for the continued erosion of the future of our children — and the generations yet to come.
The state’s educational priorities now mirror the same spiritual sickness Paul warned about: trading glory for greed, wisdom for propaganda, and children’s futures for political power. Ohio has become a case study in what happens when moral leadership abandons public trust. And our children — the very ones Jesus said are the greatest in the Kingdom — are being crucified on the altar of indifference.
When Silence Becomes Sin
Aren’t you tired of people raising the stakes on suffering? Aren’t you weary of giving your will over to those who justify their corruption while leaving devastation everywhere?
My eyes can no longer stomach the silence of those who claim morality yet enable the machinery of oppression. Prove that you are not a passive community. Refuse to let the corrupt steal education, opportunity, and future from the next generation.
Stop listening to the lies of those who tell you it’s for your good.
Engage. Resist. Demand that placeholders bend to the will of the collective.
Because the price of your silence and complicity… is just too damn high.
A Holy Charge to the Church
The Church can no longer stand as a neutral observer to this collapse. Silence in the face of injustice is not wisdom — it is wickedness. Advocacy is not a political hobby; it is a righteous and holy pursuit. It is the manifestation of divine love through public action.
When we advocate for the protection of children, the preservation of equitable education, and the integrity of constitutional promise, we are not meddling in politics — we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus, who overturned tables when sacred spaces were defiled.
The time for empty prayers and polite statements has passed. The altar is full of names — of children, teachers, and families — who deserve better. So let the Church rise as both sanctuary and sentinels. Let pulpits thunder again with conviction. Let communities organize with holy boldness.
Because when it comes to the future of our children and the soul of our society,
the price of silence is still too damn high.
Dr. Charles W. Ferguson 